Breathe In
by xxhikari E
Summary: LJ30romances. She usually isn’t this reckless, but when she’s with him, all normalcy escapes her. KibaSaku


**Breathe In**

**by xxhikari E**

**Summary - LJ30romances. **She usually wasn't this reckless, but when she's with him, all normalcy escapes her.KibaSaku

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, any of the characters, or the song.**

**Theme: #18 - Disheveled ; In the Rain ; Thunder**

**A/N: **Inspired by a recent fortune-cookie-like thing I found in my new pair of pants and the song, Breathe, by Michelle Branch. Love those old songs. Well, this is my second story for the LJ 30romances challenge. I know, I move at an extremely slow pace. This idea actually struck me last night. With that said, onto the fic!** Not beta-ed, **_**yet**__. _

**Dedication:** 2006-2007 JDLC! Happy anniversary, lovelies!

**-**

Refuge Wisdom #4

_Dare to be different_.

-

"See you tomorrow, Haruno-san!"

The rosette-haired woman stopped at the door and paused to wave politely at the young teen sitting behind the reception desk.

She stepped out of the hospital and breathed in the chilly air, relaxing her body. Her day had been long and hard, with a handful of ANBU teams returning home from a two month long S-ranked mission. She was happy to treat a few familiar faces and those session were the ones that made her day at least somewhat fulfilling.

It was nearing December and the temperature had dropped a good amount. It had not rained yet, but Sakura saw that she was in luck when the pattering started.

Her green eyes glanced down at her current attire. The usual white medic-nin uniform. She guessed that going out into the rain wasn't such a good idea.

She turned back around and grasped the cool metal handle that opened the door. The teenager was quick to greet her again when the door slammed shut after her entry. She greeted her back absentmindedly and scanned the room for the white detergent bucket.

"Haruno-san? Is there something you need?"

Sakura smiled. She walked up to the front desk and rested her folded arms on the counter. "Yes, actually. Is there a spare umbrella here?"

"Oh! Let me get one for you right now." The adolescent dug under her desk and extracted a large faded-red umbrella. "I see the weather is finally coming down on us."

She nodded, but didn't reply. She wanted to get home before the rain got harder and just snuggle in to her warm and fluffy sheets and maybe catch up on some reading. "Did someone leave this here?" She asked, as her fingers wrapped around the bottom of the umbrella, feeling the smooth wood beneath her palm.

"Inuzuka-san left it here for Inuzuka-kun." She paused. "I believe Inuzuka-kun just got admitted out of the hospital, and Inuzuka-san was tired of her brother getting unnecessary bed-rest."

Sakura laughed, and began turning away. "That does sound like Hana." She briskly exited the building for the second time, yelling a goodbye over her shoulder.

She had not even been inside for five minutes and the rain had already begun to fall harder on the dirt roads. She would take detour, she supposed, opting to walk without having to worry about her shoes sinking into the muddy ground.

The kunoichi walked through the town square, passing by a familiar lit-up noodle stand with civilians and ninjas alike bustling around the counter. Her heart got the best of her and she back pedaled, pushing past the decorative flaps that bordered the tarp covering Ichiraku. She saw a face that she was well-acquainted with, and closed the now-drenched umbrella before sneaking over to tap the girl on the shoulder.

"Surprise." Sakura grinned as the Hyuuga heiress nearly forgot to finish chewing her noodles, but covered it up with her impeccable manners.

"Sakura-san!" Hinata waved and patted the empty stool beside her. "Would you like to join me for a bit?" The pearl-eyed woman was glowing, and Sakura could only hesitate for a second before giving in.

She sat down and immediately informed Hinata that she couldn't stay long, as the rain was getting worse by the minute.

"Relax, Sakura-san, a little rain won't hurt you."

Sakura made a 'hmm' noise. "Ah, Hinata-chan, is there any good news that you haven't told me?" She teased the other kunoichi. "I don't remember you ever being this optimistic." It was a surprise to her. News had been going around that Hinata's father was arranging a marriage for the heiress and Sakura would've expected depression, if anything.

"Oh, it's nothing, really." Nobody could mistake the happy smile on the Hyuuga's face as she said this. "Eh? What's that?" Hinata's eyes were directed under the shade of the table at the dripping umbrella that was dangling from Sakura's fingertips.

"Just an umbrella." Sakura shrugged, twirling the object in her hands and watching the beads of water fly in various directions.

"It must be Kiba-kun's. I think I'd recognize that old thing anywhere." Hinata laughed and resumed eating her meal. When Sakura nodded to confirm the statement, Hinata sighed. "I'm a bit worried about Kiba-kun, actually."

Sakura made an inquisitive noise, urging the other woman to continue speaking.

"It's nothing big, he's just been a little reckless lately." Her back straightened and she spun her stool slightly to face Sakura. "If you see him, can you please make sure he isn't getting himself unwell? Inuzuka-chan has been telling me that when he's not on missions, he's usually in bed with a civilian-sickness."

"Don't worry about him, Hinata-chan." Sakura reassured, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Kiba's a big boy, and a shinobi. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"I know, but he needs to settle down. I'm tired of hearing about the latest flings he's had. Those whores."

Sakura mock gasped, pressing her free hand to her chest. "Hyuuga Hinata, I can't believe you! You must be hanging out with my idiot-teammate too much." She laughed as she stood up from her seat and reached over to give the heiress a hug. "I'll get going now, it was nice seeing you." The Hyuuga returned her hug with a smile. "And I _will_ get the news out of you eventually, _Hyuuga-sama_!"

Sakura reached her neighborhood nearly ten minutes later. She could see the deserted children's park a block away, luminous from the dozens of lamp posts that followed the path and surrounded the area-

A loud laugh echoed through the empty streets.

-or maybe it wasn't so deserted. Sakura had a hunch on exactly who it was and her thoughts were confirmed when a loud bark followed shortly after.

She followed the cobblestone path up to the play structure where a certain brown-haired man clad in a t-shirt and his usual baggy pants was swinging on the swing set, the small puppy that had grown into an enormous dog resting under the slide not too far away.

"Kiba? Get out of the rain, you're going to get sick!" Sakura hollered, moving closer to the scene.

The Inuzuka jumped off and landed gracefully in front of her, making her take a few steps back. "Hey, Sakur-" He paused, staring at her confusedly. "Wait, is that my umbrella?"

"Yes, now come, I'll walk you home."

Kiba let a frown settle on his face. There was no way _he_ would be walked home by a _girl_. It was a blow to his masculinity which he could honestly say he was very, very proud of.

Sakura rolled her eyes, tightening her hold on the umbrella. "Come on, macho man, Hinata told me to make sure you stay well."

The shinobi did not budge, but continued to frown at her.

"Seriously, Kiba. Stop being such a baby and get out of the rain. You're soaked!" It was Sakura's turn to frown when Kiba remained unmoving, being splattered by the rain that had worsened a tenfold since she left the ramen stand. "Alright, if that's the way you're going to be-"

A very inconvenient gust of wind blew at them at full force, the end result being a very satisfied Kiba, irritated Sakura, and upturned umbrella.

Kiba grinned lazily at the now-red-faced Sakura, whose clothes were beginning to mesh against her skin, effectively revealing more than necessary. "Nice undies."

"_Thanks_." Sakura managed to grind out between her gnashed teeth. She huffed, pulling her skirt back down, but was only disappointed when she saw that he could probably see everything now anyways. Though, a little more decency never hurt anyone.

She studied the upturned umbrella in her hand, now standing pathetically in her hand. "Stupid piece of trash." She mumbled. And with a quick clench of her fist, the umbrella fell to the wet ground in smithereens.

"Anytime, babe."

She looked up and met his brown eyes, lit up with mischief. "_You_!" She shouted in her rage, directing all her anger at him. It was _his_ fault she was still outside, standing in the hard rain and wind, drenched to the bone in white clothing, exposing her underwear through her layers.

Kiba grinned boyishly. "Yes, me. Want some?" He winked at her flirtatiously, and that was when Sakura lost all control.

She was _so_ going to bring Inuzuka Kiba _down_.

With a unexpectedly animalistic roar, she pounced onto the Inuzuka, bringing him down into the muddy floor with her.

It seemed that the result of her attack had only added to Kiba's entertainment as his trademark wolfish smile plastered itself onto his face. "Whoa there, I know I offered, but this is so soon-"

"Shut. _Up_." Sakura growled. Her nails were now digging into his chest and her hair had long since fallen out of the bun it was previously in, clouding both her vision and his.

"Two can play it that way." And with that said, Sakura was flipped onto her back, the sudden movement making her squeal. Kiba looked down at the squirming girl, and decided that he won. He stood up and dusted himself off- or what he could dust off. Both him and the medic-nin were now muddied and wet. "So you can just head home now, I think you're done out here. Don't you agree, darling?"

Her response was a pile of mud flying straight into his face. He dodged it, obviously, but that signaled a challenge. She couldn't win at this game, not when he was in his area of prowess. "Think you can take me on?"

Sakura let out a sarcastic laugh, lifting herself off the ground. "Oh, I know so."

With that said, the two chased each other around the playground and laughs filled the once quiet-neighborhood.

It was only forty minutes later when Sakura found herself standing on one end of a wooden bridge, staring down her current enemy who was grinning suspiciously on the other end.

She was hardly prepared when she was tackled down by the man and squealed as she started slipping. Why was she slipping?

She opened her eyes to see the shinobi sporting an accomplished smile and she soon found out why when she felt herself sliding down a tunnel slide with a man on top of her at full speed. Her shrieks echoed through the slide, accompanied by Kiba's laughs.

They slid to a stop at the bottom of the slide and Sakura's face was immediately pelted with rain.

Kiba chuckled, but didn't move. His body was still hovering over hers as his face came closer, and for a good ten seconds, the rain stopped hitting her and she was left in a daze.

He grinned at her expression, his face only an inch away from hers. He was so close that she could feel his warm breath coming out in puffs on her cheek.

"Having fun?"

She thought back to a short while ago, when she was still dry and content and walking to her house, when she was sitting beside the Hyuuga heiress and making small talk, and even when she first arrived to stop the Inuzuka from running around in the hard rain.

Then she thought about now, the rain hitting a small portion of her face and legs, the wind blowing mercilessly at their sides, the drenched clothes that hung from her body, and the handsome grinning face above hers.

She closed her eyes, and breathed in. The mud, the grass, the wet dog, the nearby flowers, the cold air, the rain. Not all pleasant, but she was satisfied.

"Yeah."

He leaned in and kissed her for the second time that night, and she could feel butterflies in her chest and her heart thumping at a hundred miles an hour.

"Me too."

**-**

"If I just breathe

Let it fill the space between

I'll know everything is alright

Breathe

Every little piece of me

You'll see

Everything is alright

If I just breathe"

_Breathe - Michelle Branch_

**-**

**A/N: **And it's finished! I know, their in a sort of strange position, but oh well. Drop a line, yes?

Chapter started, finished, and posted: 05.17.2008


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